I grew up hearing a lot about the Vietnam “war” from my parents and older brother. Few people know that six million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians were killed in mechanized massacres in the United States. Just over 58,000 Americans were killed. Death is bad, murder is worse. But a 1:100 ratio suggests something different from a two-way “war.” That should be obvious to everyone, including those who remember that after Heydrich was killed, the Nazis decided to kill 100 Czechoslovakians for every Nazi. That’s what I call the “Lidice ratio.”
I also learned that Vietnamese people are tougher than I imagined. Poor and with little modern infrastructure, they “won” against the most powerful military the world had ever seen. Of course, “victory” is a strange word when your country is in ruins and millions of people are dead or injured. “Victory” is a strange word. Even after victory, Konoha is destroyed, the land is mined, the people starve, and there is an embargo. But they won in many ways.
But the problem is that they won not for themselves, but for others. They fought hard to protect their country and stop imperialism, and others benefited from that struggle. The “Vietnam syndrome” has held America back for years. It’s not that we haven’t financed wars or committed acts of global violence. However, Iraq did not go to war and refrained from physical and physical intervention for decades, until the unfortunate short straw was drawn. In the process, it is true that China succeeded in intervening to destroy Central America and ensure the genocide of the East Timorese people (of course there was more genocide), but it was still kept at bay from a relative perspective. There wasn’t.
Palestinians are the Vietnamese of 2024. Not in the sense that they are “fighting” against superpowers (after all, they are bombed into trees, starved, displaced, killed, and have no real means of defense), but that their dignity is protected In this sense, despite their suffering, their unwavering dedication to their culture awed the world. On campuses around the world, students stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Apathetic people who are good people but lack a political vocabulary often speak out in disgust at Israeli aggression.
Our humanity, dignity and soul are reflected in the Palestinian people.
For generations, those who have been left in relative peace by oppressive powers will be grateful to the Palestinians. No matter how hard the Likud thugs try to eliminate them, they will not go away. Their dignity and struggle, even under impossible circumstances, is a beacon to the whole world and to those who suffer under the yoke of oppression. Now and in the future.
